PORTSMOUTH — The Portsmouth High School football team took the field without nine regular starters, an ongoing theme in a season full of adversity.

It’s also been a season of triumph, and the state champion Clippers did it one more time. This time on Thanksgiving.

Taking the field just five days after winning their Division III title, the oft-injured Clippers had enough in the tank for a 27-14 win over Division II Dover on Thursday, taking back the Turkey Bowl for the first time since 2008.

“We were down so many people,” Portsmouth senior Rick Holt said, “and that’s one of the better game’s we’ve played all year.”

Portsmouth ended a three-game losing streak to Dover in what will be the their final meeting on Thanksgiving Day. The Clippers finished 3-4 all time in the series against their longtime rival.

“It’s about time we actually won this game,” said Holt, who came up empty in his first three tries as a varsity player, “because it can’t be a rivalry unless the other team wins. We finally got the win, and I can’t think of a better way to send myself off.”

Dover had two chances to produce a game-tying touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, and both ended with costly turnovers.

The first was a fumble at the Portsmouth 34. The second was a brilliant defensive play by Holt, who snuffed out a screen pass, batted the ball in the air and watched linebacker James Haslam take an interception back 10 yards for the game-sealing score.

Holt also finished his day with three sacks — one that went for a 13-yard loss.

“Rick has been making plays for us since he was a freshman,” Portsmouth coach Bill Murphy said. “He’s a great competitor.”

Junior quarterback Donovan Phanor was the orchestrator of Portsmouth’s offense. He passed for 173 yards and a touchdown and added a pair of rushing scores from inside the 10, helping the Clippers turn an early 8-0 deficit to a 21-8 lead through three quarters.

Portsmouth out-rushed the Green Wave 159-78, spearheaded by 210-pound sophomore Mikel Toar and his 115 yards on 18 carries. Kyle Seawards was Dover’s leading rusher with just 24 yards.

“It starts up front,” Dover coach Ken Osbon said. “Forever, Portsmouth has always been loaded with athletes. Where we’ve had some success over the years is that we’ve been a little bit bigger, a little bit stronger in the trenches. That’s not the case right now.”

Dover quarterback Derek Stegman finished 10-for-22 passing for 169 yards. His 32-yard touchdown pass to tight end Eric Wilson and subsequent two-point conversion throw helped the Green Wave close the first quarter with an 8-0 lead.

The Clippers responded with an 11-play, 74-yard drive that ended with Phanor’s QB keeper from the 1. They added a second scoring drive before the half, hurrying to the line and scoring on a 12-yard reception by senior Taylor Henschke to take a 14-8 lead into halftime.

Trailing 21-8, the Green Wave came alive late in the third quarter when wide out Jarrett Hudson flipped field position with a 72-yard catch and run to the Portsmouth 20. Seawards covered those yards with three consecutive Wildcat runs, scoring from the 7 to pull Dover back within 21-14. The extra point failed, however, when the hold was bobbled and Phanor raced into the backfield to smother the play.

Dover got the ball back quickly when Seawards made a leaping interception on Phanor’s deep ball down the sideline. But with about nine minutes left in regulation, the Green Wave gave it back when Portsmouth’s Charles Kendall pounced on a fumble in Portsmouth territory.

“On both sides of it, we made mistakes,” Dover senior Colin Shaughnessy said. “We didn’t capitalize on stuff we should have and that we practiced the last couple of weeks. Got to give it to them, too. They’re a good team. That’s why they’re the champs of D-III.”

Hudson paced Dover with four receptions and 118 total yards from scrimmage. The Clippers got 59 yards receiving from Henschke and 40 from Chris Main, who also handled the kicking duties and went 3-for-4 on extra points.

It was Portsmouth’s second non-league win this season against a team from one of the state’s higher divisions. The Clippers also own a 22-10 win over Division I Londonderry.

“Any time you can beat the bigger schools, you’re happy to do so,” Murphy said. “And personally, I was coaching this team when we were in that upper division, and we got kicked around a little bit. So we had the chance to play some of those teams, and it just makes you feel well that you have players that can compete at that level.”